Here are 10 changes made or proposed at the federal or state level that Becker's has reported on since 2021:

Currently, one in five physicians in the U.S. is an immigrant, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. In some specialties, like geriatrics and nephrology, the share of physician immigrants reaches 50%. 

Optum and Tenet are the parent companies of the two largest ASC networks –– SCA Health and United Surgical Partners International, respectively. Here's how the ASC giants stack up against one another right now:

A Texarkana, Ark., physician was sentenced to 87 months in prison for illegal prescription. 

Gramercy Surgery Center in New York City filed a notice of a data breach with the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, according to an Aug. 23 release by JD Supra. 

Reimbursement differences between ASCs and HOPDs have been an ongoing challenge for surgery centers, continually making it more difficult for independent ASCs to stay afloat. 

Medicare physician reimbursement rates have been declining over the last decade, but some specialties have been hit harder than others. 

Most physicians' malpractice premiums are between $10,000 and $19,999,  according to Medical Economics' 2024 Physician Report published Aug. 14. 

More than half of U.S. states are experiencing a summer COVID-19 surge, with what could end up being the largest number of cases seen in the season since the virus first started circulating in 2020. 

ASCs could face an increase in volume as hospitals continue to close amid financial troubles. 

Complex claims typically have multiple stakeholders and a high degree of uncertainty. The reimbursement rates for these cases, however, can be very attractive.

David Anderson, MD, a physician in Morgantown, W.Va., admitted to filing a false tax return.

Insurance giant Cigna has maintained its position as a leading payer nationwide, despite both positive and negative events over the last two months.

A Los Angeles man has been accused of impersonating a physician and performing a surgery in July 2021. 

WalletHub named North Dakota as the hardest-working state in a new analysis published by Aug. 26.

A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to his role in a $7.8 million durable medical equipment fraud and kickback scheme. 

Here are four health system moves in the ASC market in the last week, as reported by Becker's since Aug. 16:

Over half of physicians (54%) believe that a commitment to work-life balance is the most important aspect of workplace culture, according to Medscape's 2024 "Physician Workplace Culture Report," published Aug. 23. 

Nearly 40% of physicians believe that workplace culture quality is on the decline according to Medscape's 2024 "Physician Workplace Culture Report," published Aug. 23. 

Former X-ray technician Moira McDonald has filed a complaint against the Springfield, Mass.-based Surgery Center of New England claiming that the center’s human resources department failed to step in when inappropriate photos of her were circulating in the workplace, according to an Aug. 21 report from MassLive.